Sometimes things that are intended to be mean-spirited instead create results that are so positive they are nothing short of amazing. That's the case with Kyle Coddington, who was mocked as having “Nazi hair” by Samantha Bee -- liberal host of the Full Frontal program on the TBS cable television channel -- in a segment about people attending the recent Conservative Political Action Conference.
When Bee and her staff learned that the boy is suffering from Stage 4 brain cancer, they apologized and deleted the YouTube segment from their website before donating $1,000 to Coddington's GoFundMe page, which was only the start of an outpouring of more than $85,000 (so far) in donations to be used toward his treatment for the rare disease.
This result is all the more incredible because the original goal was $2,500 and as of Friday afternoon, at least $85,323 had been raised.
As NewsBusters previously reported, Bee begin the segment by saying that “these days,” she has “no f**king clue what conservatism means,” so she sent correspondent Mike Rubens to CPAC to find out.
A video clip then played of Rubens reporting from the event, complete with a snarky voice-over mocking attendees for petty things like their appearance. Rubens also made fun of Trump, saying his voice is like “a creepy great uncle licking your ear.”
Rubens said at one point: “Last year, CPAC was dominated by Ted Cruz supporters and chirpy little shits with bow ties."
“This year, the bow ties were gone, replaced with Nazi hair. Nazi hair, Nazi hair, f**k off,” he stated while a montage of a few attendees with buzzed-off hair on the sides was played.
According to an article by John Sexton on the HotAir.com website, “Kyle’s friends sent him a screenshot of the broadcast, and he passed it along to his family."
One day later, Kyle's sister Megan defended him online as dealing with brain cancer, but where Bee is concerned, "whatever floats your boat.”
That led to Bee and her staff "deeply apologizing" for "offending you and Kyle. We only learned of his condition today and have removed him from the piece.”
“It wasn’t much as apologies go for calling someone a Nazi on television,” Sexton noted, “but thanks to that tweet from Kyle’s sister, his story went viral.”
“On Friday, he appeared on the Fox & Friends morning news program, where he agreed Bee’s apology was a bit weak but thanked her sincerely for the donation to his GoFundMe page,” the Hot Air reporter stated.
“Incidentally, Kyle also revealed on Fox News that he’s actually a registered Democrat who is politically moderate,” Sexton indicated. “He also said his diagnosis is very serious as there is no cure for the type of brain cancer he has, but he is relying on his faith and trying to stay positive.”
Kyle stated on the GoFundMe page:
So for those of you who don't know, ... I was given the diagnosis I didn't want to hear. It seems that I have … a very aggressive type of brain cancer. Currently, there is no cure, but there is a chance. The doctor said it all depends on how hard we go after it, and how my body responds to the treatment.
I fully believe that God is still in the miracle-making business as well! I'm putting complete trust in God and I know regardless of the outcome, I'll be healed one way or another! Please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks ya'll!"
“There’s no doubt that Samantha Bee and her staff entered Kyle’s life intending to do nothing but mock his appearance and thereby insinuate CPAC had been overrun by Nazis,” Sexton stated.
“But the result of Bee’s attack has been pretty positive,” he noted. “A chain of people starting with Kyle’s friends, his mother and sister all reacted to the attack on him, and now lots of people now know about Kyle’s situation and many have donated.”
“And it’s not just money he’s receiving. There are people chiming in on his GoFundMe page who are currently living with glioblastoma or have relatives who are,” Sexton stated.
In one post on the fund-raising page, Jeffrey Sisk told Kyle: “You are correct there is a great God in heaven who is in the miracle business, and most certainly there is a reason for everything that happens (including the 'hair' thing). You have already inspired many with your story.”
In addition, some of those messages refer to Genesis 50:20, which seems pretty appropriate in this situation: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
